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Covering Deadly Disasters
Tens of thousands of lives have been lost to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, while nearly nine thousand are reported dead in Central China from the nation's worst earthquake in decades. For journalists reporting on the aftermath, the Dart Center has assembled tip sheets, advice and reflection from journalists on past catastrophes and other resources of relevance.
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Special Report: Kenyan Journalists Face the Aftermath
By Sherry Ricchiardi
The violence that for months wracked East Africa's most stable democracy endangered not only journalistic standards but local journalists themselves. Now they struggle to recover — both as individuals and as watchdogs of a precarious peace.
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2008 DART AWARDS
Introducing the Award Winners
The Dart Center has announced the selection of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and National Public Radio as the winners of the 2008 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma. Full coverage, including all the stories that won awards or honorable mentions, is available here.
Event:
Covering Violence Against Women
On Wednesday, April 23rd, The Dart Center held a reception for the winners of the 2008 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma followed by a panel with the award winners: "Out of the Shadows: Reporting on Violence Against Women.". Check back next week for event coverage. |

Video: Keeping It Real
Low crime rates mask an epidemic of violence among urban youth, but how can journalists get this story right? Watch streaming video of a Dart Center discussion at the Columbia School of Journalism with panelists:
• David Meeks, city editor, New Orleans Times-Picayune
• Joseph Rodriguez, photojournalist
• Clarivel Ruiz, Director of Youth Programs, Downtown Community Television Center... |
Lois Norder Wins
The Mimi Award
The Dart Society recognizes the managing editor of investigations at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for her passion, sensitivity and commitment to excellence in covering victims of tragedy.
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DART CENTER PUBLICATIONS
Free Training for War Reporters
"Reporting War," a training booklet by Dart Fellow Sharon Schmickle, is now available upon request from the Dart Center. Read about the meeting of thirteen journalists that started the project here. To request a free copy of the booklet e-mail info@dartcenter.org... |
Lessons from Other Mass Killings
Virginia Tech: Advice from journalists, lessons for local newsrooms and a profile of a student newspaper's coverage of the tragedy.
Columbine: Two firsthand accounts by newspaper reporters struggling to ethically cover the high-school killings.
Port Arthur, Tasmania: A reporter reflects on the challenge of covering "Australia's worst mass murder."
Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania: An analysis of the effect of the national media's coverage of the small-town "Amish tragedy."
Dart Center Resources
Quick Tips: A guide for reporters, editors, photographers and managers on every aspect of reporting tragedy.
Online Courses: The Dart Center's comprehensive multimedia curriculum on journalism and trauma.
Links: An index of other organizations and resources for reporting and trauma.
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Video: ‘Points of Entry’
Covering Immigrants and Immigration
Video from a recent Dart Center discussion at the Columbia School of Journalism. Panelists include:
• Nina Bernstein, reporter, The New York Times
• Jacob Massaquoi, Director, African Refuge
• Arlene Morgan, Associate Dean of Prizes and Programs, Columbia Journalism School
• Mirta Ojito, Assistant Professor, Columbia Journalism School, and former reporter at The New York Times, The Miami Herald, and El Nuevo Herald ... |
Center Names 2007 Ochberg Fellows
The Dart Center has announced the recipients of the 2007 Ochberg Fellowship. The ten Fellows are:
• Margarita Akhvlediani, Institute for War and Peace Reporting
• Donna Alvis-Banks, Roanoke (Va.) Times
• Moni Basu, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• George Hoff, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• James MacMillan, Philadelphia Daily News
• Michael Marizco, BorderReporter.com
• Tara McKelvey, The American Prospect
• Lisa Millar, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Susan Snyder, Philadelphia Inquirer
• John Trotter, freelance
Click here to read more ... |

How Newsrooms Can Prepare
It takes a single phone call, a single alert on a police scanner, a single wire-service bulletin bearing word of catastrophe to upend the
well-ordered chaos of a newsroom. In Minneapolis, it was
the interstate highway collapse ... |

Documentary: Bearing Witness
The burden of bearing witness is borne by journalists around the globe who put themselves on the front line of conflict and tragedy in the course of their work. But what sustains them? How do they deal with trauma? This is subject of a one-hour documentary produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, recently aired on the weekly program Compass ... |

Hidden in Plain Sight
At a recent Dart Center panel at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, four pioneers in reporting the human impact of the Iraq War — photographer Nina Berman and reporters Mark Benjamin, Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman — discussed the challenges of reporting on these veterans. Click here for video from the panel, here for a summary and transcript ...
Interviewing veterans
By Joe Hight
A wounded veteran, mental health experts and journalists offer tips on how to interview soldiers returning from Iraq, the Middle East or Afghanistan ... |
Experts Unite on Early Trauma Support
Should journalists and other witnesses of traumatic or violent events receive mandatory counseling or debriefing in the immediate aftermath? No, concludes a major article published in the July 1, 2007, edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry ... |
A Victim's View
By Joe Hight
Sarah King Fortney, whose husband died in a plane crash last summer, shares her advice for journalists who cover tragedy ... |

Australian Journos Pen Open Letter
Senior Australian journalists, following a meeting at Coff's Harbour convened by Dart Centre Australasia, have drafted an open letter calling on the country's editors and news managers to foster “the resilience of news workers to handle the trauma and violence we face in our daily work” ... |
2007 Dart Award Ceremony
DART CENTER EVENTS
The 2007 Dart Awards were presented May 9 to teams from the Hartford Courant and Dallas Morning News ... |
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DART CENTER NEWS
Air Force Revises Subpoena Rules
Following a meeting with Dart Society members, U.S. Air Force officials have revamped their subpoena practices to extend greater protections to journalists...
Dart to Support Hostage Help Center
With the support of the Dart Center, the International News Safety Institute has set up a resource for responding to kidnappings of journalists and other news professionals...
Update from Australasia
The January 2008 newsletter from the Dart Center in Australasia: trauma and journalism in Indonesia, a new DVD and more...
Ochberg Fellow Wins Reporting Award
Denver Post investigative reporter Miles Moffeit, a 2004 Dart Center Ochberg Fellow and vice president of The Dart Society, has won John Jay College's award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting....
Center Names New President
Investigative journalist Deborah Nelson has been elected president of the Dart Center Executive Committee. She succeeds Joe Hight, managing editor of the Daily Oklahoman, who served as the Executive Committee's first president ... |
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